1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus which displays a trend graph based on information acquired by the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus, and also relates to a medical imaging apparatus which displays a trend graph based on information acquired by the medical imaging apparatus. The present invention further relates to an apparatus capable of displaying a trend graph based on information acquired by a medical apparatus. The present invention further relates to a method of displaying a medical trend graph.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical ultrasound diagnosis apparatus, transducers built in an ultrasound probe generate ultrasound pulses towards a patient body. The transducers also receive echo signals returning from the patient body as a result of the ultrasound pulse generation. The echo signals occur due to a difference of acoustic impedances among tissues of the patient body. The received echo signals are displayed as ultrasound images on a display monitor. Since the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus requires only simple and easy operations, such as contacting the ultrasound probe with a surface of the patient body for acquiring the ultrasound images (e.g., real-time two-dimensional ultrasound images), the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus is widely used for functional and/or morphological diagnoses of various organs of the patient.
An ultrasound pulse echo technique and an ultrasound Doppler technique have been developed as major techniques in the field of ultrasound diagnoses. These two techniques contribute significantly to progress in obtaining patient body information based on echo signals returned from various organs or blood cells of the patient. Recently, B-mode images acquired by the ultrasound pulse echo technique and color Doppler images (or Doppler-mode images) acquired by the ultrasound Doppler technique are frequently used in ultrasound image diagnoses.
An ultrasound diagnosis technique does not give an exposure affection which may happen in X-ray use and is, therefore, non-invasive to the patient. For this reason, the ultrasound diagnosis technique is particularly often used in an obstetrical service. For example, an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus is typically used to observe an unborn baby, such as an embryo or a fetus in the womb of a pregnant woman, so that various types of diagnoses and treatments can be conducted on the unborn baby.
An ultrasound fetometry is known as one of the ultrasound diagnosis techniques for observing an unborn baby. The fetometry is usually used to measure a shape and a size of one or more organs of the unborn baby in the womb. A blood flow condition of the unborn baby may also be measured in the fetometry. Therefore, the fetometry is known as one of important diagnostic techniques for observing the growth condition of the unborn baby.
In the fetometry at an earlier stage of the pregnancy, a gestational sac (GS) may be measured during the fourth to sixth weeks of the pregnancy. The GS is created in an endometrial cavity as a result of a fertilized egg implanted at a uterine wall. Also, a crown-rump length (CRL) may be measured during the seventh to eleventh weeks of the pregnancy. The CRL is a length from a top of a cephalon to a derriere of the embryo, since the embryo itself can be recognized during the seventh to eleventh weeks of the pregnancy. Further, a biparietal diameter (BPD) may also be measured during the twelfth to twentieth weeks of the pregnancy. The BPD is a diameter of an axial transverse section of the cephalon of the fetus.
In the fetometry at middle and later stages of the pregnancy, the BPD may also be measured. In addition, an occipital frontal diameter (OFD) of a fetal cephalon may be measured. An abdominal circumference (AC) may be measured. Further, for example, a femur length (FL) may be measured, is the FL being a length of a femur along its long axis.
Based on several measurements described above, the growth condition of the unborn baby can be diagnosed. A time-series transition of measurement results (or values) of each measured part (or each parameter) is typically displayed in a form of a trend graph in a display of the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus.
Recently, it has been suggested that such a trend graph can be displayed with ultrasound images used in the measurements on the same screen of a display so that operational and diagnostic efficiency can be improved. One example of such a display technique is described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. PH09-327457. According to this publication, it is possible to observe a trend graph and ultrasound images at the same time. When, however, a user such as a doctor or a technologist desires to see detailed information and/or related information of the measurement results in each time phase on the trend graph, the user is required to activate another display feature in which such detailed and/or related information is displayed.
For example, the trend graph may include a normal range for measurement results. The normal range may be displayed in addition to the measurement results. When one or more of the measurement results regarding one of the parameters is significantly out of the normal range, the user may want to determine whether the reason is a measurement error or a growth abnormality of the unborn baby. One advantageous way of knowing the reason may be a comparison between the measurement results of the one parameter and measurement results of another parameter, or other parameters, of the same unborn baby. Also, it may be advantageous to refer to trend graph(s) of another one or more of the parameters. As mentioned above, it has been necessary for the user to independently operate or activate a display feature to display additional measurements results and/or trend graphs. In other words, the user has been required to perform many operations for the comparison and reference of patient data, and such operations can be tedious and tiring for the user.